SANTA ANA – A drug dealer gambled with a young woman's life when he gave her heroin, even though he knew she was using anti-anxiety drugs and the fix could kill her, a prosecutor told the Orange County grand jury.

Louis Richard Wood, 33, ignored the risks because he was a selfish and dangerous drug pusher who had heroin and wanted sex, Deputy District Attorney Susan Price argued to grand jurors during the confidential proceedings, according to court documents reviewed by the Register.

Price said that Wood's gamble cost 21-year-old Emma Wihlborg her life on Nov. 16, 2011, when she died from a heroin overdose in a Lake Forest motel room. Price alleged that Woods left her – alone, cold and unconscious – while he went out to buy more drugs.

Wihlborg's death "lies squarely at his feet," Price told the grand jury last month, according to transcripts. "He is absolutely responsible ... He is a dangerous, dangerous man."

The grand jury indicted Wood on March 11 on a single count of second-degree murder under the implied malice legal theory, in part because he knew providing heroin to Wihlborg would be dangerous, but he chose to do so anyway.

He also displayed an indifference to her critical situation when he left to buy drugs, ignoring the legal duty he created to seek medical assistance for her when he abandoned her in the motel room, Price said.

Wood, who has had several arrests and convictions on drug charges, is being held without bail in the Orange County Jail pending his arraignment in Orange County Superior Court on April 19.

"Obviously, it is a tragic situation, but Louie Wood is not responsible," said defense attorney Cori Ferrentino. "We will aggressively fight the allegation."

Implied malice

Implied malice is a legal theory for murder that is most often applied to drunken-driving cases where intoxicated drivers were warned during a DUI arrest that driving under the influence is dangerous, but they drove while drunk again and were involved in a crash in which someone died.

The theory is seldom applied in drug overdose deaths, in part because a prosecutor must prove that a person providing the fatal drug knew beforehand – other than just societal knowledge that drugs can be deadly – that what he or she was doing could result in the victim's death.

It is reminiscent of the prosecution of celebrity groupie Cathy Smith, who admitted that she gave the fatal heroin injection to comedian John Belushi in Hollywood in 1982. Smith ultimately pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and served 18 months in custody. Wood, however, faces a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted.

Wood, Price said in her argument to the grand jury last month, was a veteran drug dealer with expert knowledge that giving Wihlborg heroin on the day she died could kill her, in part because he had been present six months earlier when a 16-year-old girl died in an almost identical manner from what he believed was a lethal combination of Xanax and heroin.

Price said that, even with the teenager's death in his recent memory, Wood gave Wihlborg her last dose of heroin on Nov. 16, 2011, inside his room at the Extended Stay America Suites when she demanded it, even though he knew she had been using Xanax, alcohol and marijuana.

The transcripts show that Jared Garcia, an addict who was staying in the room, said that Wood woke up that morning and injected himself with heroin while Wihlborg was unconscious on a couch.

Dead when they returned

Garcia testified that Wood tried to revive Wihlborg by shaking her, and then by taking off her clothes and putting her in a cold shower, according to the transcript.

When that didn't work, Garcia argued with Wood about taking Wihlborg to a hospital, according to the transcript. But instead of seeking medical attention, Garcia testified, Wood insisted they go on an errand – to buy more drugs. When they returned from the drug-buying trip – delayed because they ran out of gas – Wihlborg was no longer breathing: she died of a drug overdose while they were gone.

Wood then tried to hide his drugs while Garcia called 911, according to his testimony.

"It was more of a selfish thing," Garcia testified. "Like he was (more) worried about getting in trouble" than the fact that Wihlborg was dead.

Wood "had a custom and practice of introducing young girls in their teens to the drug of heroin," including Wihlborg, who received her first taste of heroin from Wood, Price said, according to the transcript. Wihlborg, "much like the other women, gave him sexual favors ... and he would give her heroin for free," she said.

Wood targeted women who were much younger than him, Price said, because "it makes him feel good. It makes him feel wanted. It makes him feel powerful. It makes him feel in control. It makes him important in their eyes.

"He's gambling with people's lives every single time he provides them with heroin," Price said in her summation to the grand jury.

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